Proposal for special plan to uplift Devadasis submitted to govt: Laxmi Hebbalkar

Bengaluru: Woman and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar on Monday said that the proposal for a special package action plan to former Devadasis had been prepared and submitted to the government.

Responding to a question by BJP MLC Hemalatha Naik in the Legislative Council, the minister said: “Former Devadasis aged more than 45 years are being paid a pension.

"A fund of Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 has been paid to 13,663 former Devadasi women by the Karnataka State Women’s Development Board from 2013-14 till now.” She explained that a special action plan of Rs 250 crore had been announced for the upliftment of former Devadasi women.

Noting that all Devadasi women belonged to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, Hebbalkar said a meeting had been fixed with Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa in a few days to discuss the different measures that can be initiated to uplift the Devadasi community in the state.

She also noted that former Devadasi women were being provided pension, housing, health facilities and activities that increase their income levels. As many as 10,725 former Devadasi women were being provided houses through the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation. 

The minister explained that 23,395 former Devadasis were enumerated during the survey that conducted across 15 districts of the state from September 15 to December 31, 2025. She added that overall 90,092 first, second and third generation children of former Devadasis were found in the state.